So many people when I mention ETSY look at me funny and the first question they ask is “What is ETSY?” Well, ETSY is a site where crafters are able to list and sell their craft items to a wide audience. It is something that can be a bit of a challenge sometimes but if you understand and do a bit of homework before even setting up your shop you could have success on this platform. I have an ETSY shop and it has been just under a year now that we have had it and with some work it has started to get sales.
Things that I have learned from having an ETSY shop:
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Do not list all your items are once because that doesn’t help you be seen when you are first starting out. Sure, you want to have lots of items in your shop when you start but remember that each day you list an item is another day that you can be seen listed with a new item. Also, when you list all your items are once, all the renewals will happen at the same time as well. The renewals happen at the same time if you don’t have sales, so remember that. A renewal moves each time it is sold, so that does help.
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When you are listing items and if you have more than one of the specific item,, add the quantity to the listing so that you don’t have to remember to relist the item after each sale. This will help in the management of the site.
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Understand that there are fees when you list an item (not very much at all currently only $.20 per item) If you add the quantity, it doesn’t impact the fee for the listing as it will only be charged after one item is sold, and the new listing is automatically done for you. There are also transaction fees on the sale of an item, so remember that as well. ETSY takes a % of the sales price, so also consider that when you are pricing your items.
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Shipping to other countries. Here is one thing that you have to think about before you even start to think about shipping costs. When you get up your shop, will you be shipping your items to other countries and what could the cost be. For me, I decided to ship to Canada and the United States only, and that was a decision that I made even before thinking about shipping costs or any of that.
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Shipping costs, now this is something that you can handle two different ways. You can include the shipping cost in the price of the item, or you can charge shipping costs separately. I add shipping costs separately to the items and have one price for the first item and then a reduced price when you add items to your order.
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Consider if you are willing to do custom orders. Custom orders can vary, and it is something that you have to think about. Custom orders can be maybe a different size compared to what you make, or even a different colour. For me, I have added custom order to some of the items where I have fabric remaining after I have made the first lot of items.
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Shipping items out. The other thing you need to figure out is how you are going to handle the shipping the items out once an item is sold. A lot of people have either 3-5 business days or 1-3 business days depending on how often they want to go to the post office to mail the items. Remember, you are going to need to package up each of the items when they are sold and get them ready to be shipped. The packaging does cost, so remember to add that into your pricing of either shipping or the cost of the item.
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Have fun. For a lot of people, ETSY is a little side business that can be a lot of fun and something that you do when time allows. ETSY can also be a full-time business, and it is another decision that you need to think about and figure out. The items that you are selling in your shop can you continue to make them or versions of them or are then one off and once they are gone, they are gone. Look at the amount of time you are willing to put into your shop because that will also impact how it goes.
ETSY can be a lot of fun if you handle it correctly. Knowing the answers to a lot of the questions before you start setting up your shop will help a lot. I know that I did some research and asked questions before reopening my ETSY shop, and I am now glad I reopened it. The first ETSY shop I had didn’t work, and I learned some lessons from it, and it helped the newly reopened shop.
Remember there are quite a few people that have ETSY shops that are doing it for the fun of it and if you have questions don’t be afraid to ask someone your questions. I know that I am always willing to assist someone who would like to open an ETSY shop because I have learned from having one and if I can help someone else that would be great as well. My ETSY shop is DLKsCrafts, and I am enjoying it and will continue to have the shop as long as I have fun with it.
